Monday, 18 May 2015

Super Scaup!

In the last couple of weeks I have been busy with exams and revising for them so I haven't been able to get out as much as I wanted to but thankfully this weekend we managed to get out. We decided we would have a visit to Wintersett Reservoir in hope of seeing the Lesser Scaup which had been present for several weeks. It is fitted with a red nasal saddle on its beak where you can see that it was tagged in Portugal!!! So it has come quite a way! I was really looking forward to seeing it as to know info like that is great!

Surprisingly we didn't get lost on our way which is a big surprise, thankfully the directions were easier than we thought! While walking to the hide the Swifts were amazing, they were flying just a couple of feet above our heads! Plus a Willow Warbler was also very nice to see. Once we arrived we saw the Lesser Scaup almost immediately but sadly it was asleep and after only about 10 seconds it went to sit on the back of the island and out of view. great... We did have a nice supporting cast of 2 Arctic Tern, Common Tern and Oystercatchers which one pair had 2 chicks. We had to wait about an hour before the Lesser Scaup showed itself again, they was a disturbance of the Tufted Ducks on the back of the islands and they all swam out onto the water and thankfully the lesser Scaup was with them and awake and feeding! Get in! It swam right in front of the hide where it gave stunning views, absolutely awesome. It did get a bit of stick though of the local Tufties, but still it didn't seem bothered one bit. Also in the hide it was very nice to meet David Aitken who is the head warden at Bempton Cliffs and a great person I know off Twitter.

Lesser Scaup

Here is a photo of one of the Arctic Terns in comparison with a Common Tern.

Arctic/Common Tern

On the way home we popped into Fairburn for a quick look, we were hoping to see the Spoonbill which had been present there. We passed the flashes and saw loads of birders standing by the road, we got out of the car and asked what was around and someone said Hen Harrier! Unfortunately it flew over the hill and into the distance and we didn't see it in the end but on the flashes behind us my Dad spotted the long staying Ruddy Shelduck which was great to see! We also missed out on the Spoonbill too but we have had a great day and I wasn't to bothered.